Attributes Associated with Success as Perceived by Managers in Three Levels of Multidepartment Management in Acute Care Hospitals

This research identified personal attributes for success as perceived by three distinct levels of management in contracted managed services within acute care hospitals. From the researcher-designed survey, factor analysis results demonstrated that the successful multi-department manager has vision; is creative; acts as a mentor; has the ability to develop new ideas; possesses honesty, ethical behavior, and dependability; has leadership abilities to develop subordinates; builds and leads teams; and delegates. ANOVA was employed to test whether the three levels of management responded differently to the survey questions concerning attributes necessary for success. Managers of five or more departments considered leadership attributes far more important to success than did managers of one to two departments. Managers of three to four departments placed significantly more importance on analyzing and admitting mistakes than did managers of one to two departments and managers of five or more departments.